The number of overseas tourist visits to London, United Kingdom continued to grow in 2023, following a sharp drop in 2021, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the significant annual increase, inbound arrivals in the UK's capital remained below pre-pandemic levels, reaching ***** million in 2023. That year, inbound tourist visits to the UK totaled nearly ** million. London leading the way in Europe London’s contribution to inbound tourism in the United Kingdom is significant, with the UK’s capital accounting for over ** percent of international tourist arrivals in the country in 2023. This was more than other leading European destinations, such as Amsterdam, Paris, and Berlin. Those visiting the UK capital also made a significant contribution to the local economy, with expenditure of international visitors in London peaking in 2023, with inbound tourists spending over ** billion British pounds that year. However, this was not reflected in business travel spending in the city, which was nearly half a billion British pounds in 2023 than in 2019. London’s visitor attractions As the largest city in the UK, London is home to some of the country's most iconic visitor attractions. These range from government-sponsored museums, such as the British Museum, to the Tower of London and the ZSL London Zoo. In 2023, the ************** was the most visited tourist attraction in London. Overall, most sites have struggled to match the visitation rates recorded before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, however. For instance, attendance at the British Museum – the most visited free attraction in London in 2023 – declined by around ***** percent from 2019.

In 2023, the number of overseas resident visits to the United Kingdom totaled 38 million, representing a growth of over 20 percent from the previous year. The figure was projected to reach 38.7 million in 2024. Has the UK’s tourism industry completely recovered from the coronavirus pandemic? Like in most countries, the travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the UK’s tourism industry. Overseas visitor numbers dropped to 7.1 million in 2021, representing a drop of over 80 percent from 2019. While the figure reported for 2023 showed a continued recovery in terms of overseas visitors to the UK, it remained below pre-pandemic levels. However, in terms of spending among the UK’s leading inbound travel markets, most overseas visitors spent more in 2023 than in 2019, with visitors from the UK’s leading inbound travel market, the United States, spending around 50 percent more during their travels than in 2019. What are the most visited cities in the UK? Unsurprisingly, London consistently ranked as the most visited town or city in the UK among international tourists in recent years, drawing in 20.27 million visitors in 2023. This was around tenfold the number of the second-most visited city, Edinburgh, which received 2.32 million visitors during the same year. As the UK’s capital city, London’s tourist attractions are as varied as the city itself; however, one particularly strong draw for inbound visitors is Royal Family-related tourism. This is evident with the top two most visited paid tourist attractions in England being based in London and either belonging to the Royal Family or being run by a Royal-affiliated charity. Meanwhile, among UK residents, London ranks as the second most popular destination for a summer staycation, with the South West ranking first.

Visit Britain publish data relating to international visitors to the UK. They produce the data in two formats - individual spreadsheets for each region that are updated annually, and a single spreadsheet for all regions, containing less detail but updated quarterly. Data shows London totals for nights, visits, and spend. Data broken down by age, purpose, duration, mode and country. This data is also available from Visit Britain website, including the latest quarterly data for other regions. All data taken from the International Passenger Survey (IPS). Some additional data on domestic tourism can be found on the Visit Britain website, and Visit England both overnight tourism and Day visits pages. Data on accomodation occupancy levels is also available from Visit England. An overview of all tourism data for London can be found in this GLAE report 'Tourism in London' Further information can be found on the London and Partners website. Comparisons of international tourist arrivals with other world cities are produced by Euromonitor and in Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. This dataset is included in the Greater London Authority's Night Time Observatory. Click here to find out more.

The British Museum was the most visited free tourist attraction in London in 2023, welcoming roughly 5.8 million visitors. While attendance at the renowned institution increased significantly over the previous year, the number of visitors remained below the figure reported before the COVID-19 pandemic. This was also the case with many other leading attractions, with only the National History Museum and the Royal Museums Greenwich having higher attendance in 2023 compared to 2019, among the listed attractions. Has tourism in London recovered from the impact of COVID-19? In 2023, the number of overseas visits to London exceeded 20 million. While inbound tourist visits experienced a sharp annual increase, they did not fully recovery yet from the impact of COVID-19. That said, expenditure by international visitors in the UK’s capital had more than recovered in 2023, reaching an all-time high that year. London’s contribution to inbound tourism in the UK Both before and after the pandemic, London was by far the most visited city in the UK by international tourists. When looking at the contribution to inbound tourism of leading European travel destinations, the city’s prominent role in supporting inbound tourism in the UK stands out. In 2023, London alone accounted for over half of inbound tourist arrivals in the country.

Tourist Arrivals in the United Kingdom remained unchanged at 3500 Thousand in September. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Tourist Arrivals- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Average daily rate (ADR) refers to the average price a room is sold for - it is calculated as room revenue divided by rooms sold. In the second quarter of 2024, the nominal average daily rate for hotels in the United Kingdom's capital, London, stood at ***** British pounds, while the real average rate totaled *** British pounds.
Other important KPIs of the London hotel market As one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, London’s hotel market is in a prime position for growth. Following the difficulties that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presented to the tourism industries in both the UK and worldwide, hotel occupancy rates in London stabilized, and stood at over ** percent in the second quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, the nominal RevPAR in London hotels in the same quarter was around *** British pounds. London vs. the rest of the UK Compared to other towns and cities, London is by far the most visited UK destination by overseas visitors. Accordingly, it comes as no surprise that occupancy rates outside of London are consistently lower than in the capital. Similarly, the RevPAR in UK hotels outside of London was less than **** the figure in the capital in 2023.

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The Tower of London was the most popular paid attraction in London in 2023, welcoming roughly 2.8 million visitors. Attendance at the renowned site grew significantly compared to the previous year, nearly catching up with the figure from 2019. Meanwhile, the Royal Botanical Gardens (Kew Gardens) was the second most visited paid attraction in 2023, with just under two million visitors. What is the most popular free tourist attraction in London? In 2023, the British Museum topped the ranking of the most visited free attractions in London, welcoming nearly six million visitors. While attendance at the British Museum did not fully recover from the impact of COVID-19, the number of visitors to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, which came in second in 2023, exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Overall, nine of the ten most visited tourist attractions in London that year did not charge for admission tickets. How many tourists visit London every year? London plays a key role in supporting the travel and tourism sector in the United Kingdom. Both before and after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was by far the city with the highest inbound tourism spending in the UK. In 2023, the number of international tourist visits to London surpassed 20 million, nearly catching up with the overseas tourist visits recorded in 2019.

Monthly gold prices (USD) in London from Bundesbank.

General: 1 ounce of fine gold = 31.1034768g. Method of calculation:

• Since 1 April 1968, calculated from the daily morning fixing;
• From January 1950 to 21 March 1954, calculated using the Bank of England's gold purchasing price (1 ounce of fine = pound 12.40) in connection with the average exchange rate for the pound in New York (up to the end of 1952; source: Federal Reserve Bulletin) and, from January 1953, midpoint exchange rates for the US dollar in London (source: Financial Times (FT)).
• From 22 March 1954 to December 1959, calculated using the fixing price for gold bars of approx. 12 1/2 kg and 995/1000 fineness and over (so-called standard bars) according to data from Metallgesellschaft AG, Frankfurt am Main, in connection with the average midpoint exchange rates for the US dollar in London (source: FT).
• From January 1960 to 14 March 1968, average fixing price for standard bars as specified in the Bank of England's Quarterly Bulletin.
• On 15 March 1968, fixing price suspended. Gold market split into an official (reserved for central banks) and a free market as a result of the Washington Communique of 17 March 1968. Gold trading suspended from 18 to 29 March 1968.
• Sources for daily prices: April 1968 - March 1974: FT; April 1974 - December 1980: Samuel Montagu & Co. Ltd.; January 1981 - December 2005: FT; January 2006 - present: Reuters.
• Comment on 1968-03: Average from 1 to 14 March 1968.

License: PDDL (Source indicates no restrictions on data).

The expenditure of international visitors in London was expected to rise by ** percent between 2023 and 2031. As forecast, spending of inbound tourists in the UK's capital was estimated to total roughly **** billion British pounds in 2023. This number was predicted to grow to nearly **** billion British pounds by 2031. Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the international tourist expenditure in London reached in 2021 the lowest figure in over a decade.

The combined number of tourist visits to London, including trips by overseas and domestic visitors, nearly halved in 2021 compared to 2019 due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The sharp drop in total visits was mainly driven by the significant decrease in inbound arrivals, totaling roughly *** million in 2021. On the other hand, as the travel restrictions enforced during the health crisis disrupted international tourism more than domestic travel, overnight trips to London by British residents bounced back in 2021. That year, domestic trips accounted for around ** percent of tourist visits to the UK's capital.

In 2023, spending on domestic overnight trips in Great Britain's capital, London, was around *** billion British pounds, this marks a decrease of around 100 million when compared to the year before, where spending peaked over the period considered.

In 2019, international travelers aged between 25 and 44 years old recorded the highest number of visits in London, United Kingdom (UK). Overall, tourists aged 25-34 and 35-44 accounted for 4.5 million and 4.4 million visits by overseas residents, respectively. In total, international tourist visits in London exceeded 21 million.

The number of visits by overseas residents to the United Kingdom gradually recovered in 2022, after falling sharply with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As of **************, inbound tourist visits to the UK totaled roughly *** million, which was an increase from September in the previous year and was only marginally less than pre-pandemic levels for the same month. Over the period considered, visits by overseas tourists to the United Kingdom peaked at *** million in ***********.

The average length of an overseas visit to London in 2022 was *** nights. In terms of purpose of stay, the longest inbound visits were for studying, lasting an average of ** nights. Meanwhile, the second-longest stays were for visiting friends and relatives, averaging nine nights.

The direct contribution of travel and tourism to London's gross domestic product (GDP) was significantly lower in the first two years of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic compared to 2019. Due to the impact of the health crisis, these industries' direct contribution to GDP in the UK's capital amounted to *** billion British pounds in 2021, dropping by nearly ** percent from 2019. As forecast, this figure is expected to rebound to an estimated **** billion British pounds in 2022, denoting a sharp annual increase but remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

The majority of visits to London from North America in 2019 were for a vacation, with around **** billion trips made to the UK for holiday purposes that year. Overall the most popular reason for international visitors to travel to London is for a holiday or vacation.